Black caviar is conquering China both in supply and delivery.

Black caviar is conquering China, both in supply and supply.

China's super-rich indulge in a classic global tradition: wild sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea costs hundreds of dollars a spoon. But China could also become a new source of farmed caviar that experts say rivals the world's best in quality.

Beijing. The "lipstick effect" is an economic theory that says women tend to buy more expensive lipsticks when they face an economic downturn. Lipstick becomes a relatively cheap luxury. During such periods, there is a barometer of the state of the economy: consumption of the "3 Cs" - champagne, cigars, caviar.

After China's super-rich tried champagne and cigars, it's time for caviar.
Knowledgeable Chinese will explain to you that real black caviar is the caviar of wild sturgeon living in the Caspian Sea, where it can feed on a special type of algae. However, due to the growing demand for black caviar in the world, as well as overfishing and pollution, the production of wild sturgeon caviar is declining. Among all sturgeons, the beluga, whose caviar is valued the most, is at risk of becoming an endangered species, like the rhinoceros or panda.

Here comes the question of the ethics of the eater. How much shark fins, whale meat and bear liver does humanity need to eat before gluttony brings Nature to the bottom?

The moral choice is a personal matter. There are still those for whom the caviar of a dead sturgeon is the height of taste pleasure, and those for whom it is a matter of status. The smuggled market for slaughtered black caviar is alive and well, thanks to the ban on wild sturgeon fishing: prices can reach $10,000 per pound, or several hundred dollars per spoon.

Yangtze Black Caviar?
So where do China's high-end restaurant chefs get their caviar for their dishes? Some use caviar grown in aquaculture facilities that have been around for more than 20 years, primarily in Russia, North America, and Europe.

Indeed, like many other industries, sturgeon farming has moved to China in recent years. Caviar farms are located all along the Yangtze River and the Heilongjiang River in China.

The Kaluga Queen is one of the most successful examples in China, originally focused only on exports, but now conquering the domestic market. Kaluga caviar comes from the Thousand Island Lake in Zhejiang Province. Initially, it was produced for Petrosyan, a French top store that supplies black caviar to Europe.

Now, the company is trying to avoid talking about the place of origin of Kaluga black caviar. You will not find information on the company's website about where the product is supplied from. And this is understandable, just as all luxury brands like Burberry and Louis Vuitton, until they are caught red-handed, try to deny that their products are mainly produced in China these days, using cheap labor.

Those Chinese consumers who do not feel the difference between wild sturgeon caviar and farmed sturgeon caviar will not be scared by the place of origin of Kaluga Queen.

According to Ni Hao, Kaluga Queen's marketing manager, 90% of Chinese Western restaurants prefer caviar of this native brand.

It is also interesting that foreign chefs also prefer the Chinese product. This can be confirmed by the fact that the chef of the “Atelier of Joel Robuchon”, a three-star restaurant in Hong Kong, uses Chinese caviar in his dishes.

Sebastian Lepinoy, another French chef at Cépage, believes that Chinese black caviar is even better than the caviar from the Caspian Sea, which is now very polluted. And besides, caviar from the Thousand Islands is produced every two months, so it is certainly fresh.

At the popular Shanghai restaurant Madison, the chef works directly with Chinese caviar producers to prepare a special menu “Caviar Wednesday”. The price starts at 10 euros for 10 grams. This marketing ploy stimulates young consumers to be interested in this expensive product.

Chinese caviar producers do not care how their caviar is eaten. “Of course we are for the natural taste. But black caviar has a specific taste, so we do not mind if people eat black caviar in different dishes, getting used to it! - says Ni Hao." "Just like wine, when it came to China, it was first drunk with Sprite."

https://worldcrunch.com/food-travel/how-caviar-is-conquering-china-with-both-supply-demand